


All-Stories Drabbles

by RockIt09



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fanart, Gen, Other, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-09-22 13:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17060396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockIt09/pseuds/RockIt09
Summary: A group of drabbles I'm writing for the Weekly Drabble Challenge on TMNT-AllStories on DeviantArt. The themes will be random. The shorts will take place in my personal AU.





	1. Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title: Mistletoe Key

“A portal in New York, in Central Park no less. Are we in a Don Bluth movie?” Two o’clock in the morning, twenty below, Michelangelo and Irma lead a foot trail in the soft snow deep into the boundaries of New York Cities urban forest, the air spiked with the chill of deep winter. Even packed like a mule under the burden of coats and two pairs of thick gloves, Michelangelo felt every whispering breeze as sharply as he could feel a blade  pressed to his skin.   
  
“I haven’t seen any trolls yet but I’ll let you know if I do.” Irma adjusted her jacket nervously in anticipation. “But until then here we are.” Irma unfolded a note from a deep pocket. “This is the place April marked on the map.”    
  
Michelangelo grumbled something about frozen nunchucks, until they stopped in the shadow of an oak tree, biggest in the park.   
  
“Woah no way.” Mikey breathed, mystified. “Its the dead of winter but this oak tree is as green as  Kermit’s rear end.”  
  
Irma squinted at the high branches, there the mistletoe sat passively drawing energy. “ It looks like the magic suspended the tree in time.” Irma motioned to press her palm against it but didn’t.  “But mistletoe is a parasite, so it shouldn’t be long now.”  
  
“Long til what?” Then he heard it. “Is that tree...talking?”  
  
Irma turned her head slightly. It wasn’t a voice, more a dull hum, or painful groan. A violent shake made them stagger. The crop of mistletoe tied to the core branches of the oak tree glowed a ghostly pale aura,  snake like golden vines sprouted forth, growing and encircling the tree rapidly, choking every branch until they fell on  the snow in unison, like a curtain.  Before Michelangelo could fully comprehend what happened,  with a last dying shudder the oak’s trunk turned black and split open and curled backwards, revealing  in its wake a dark void.     
  
“Right. Okay.” Michelangelo half stepped backwards. “I get the feeling this isn’t a gateway to the north pole.”  
  
“Nope.”  
  
“Halloween town?”  
  
Irma smirked. “If you can classify the underworld as  Halloween town then this may be as close as you’re gonna get.”  Michelangelo pulled on his beanie cap.   
  
“The underworld? Heck yeah! Maybe I’ll get to meet Jack Skellington!”  
  
“Doubtful.” Irma frowned.  
  
“Oh! Or what about Hell Boy!”   
  
“Mikey!” Irma turned away from the ghastly portal, hand on her hips expectantly.  
Michelangelo raised a hand in mock surrender. “Not even Gordon Ramsey?”  
  
“Seriously now is not the time for jokes!”     
  
“I’m know.” The turtle gestured towards the cursed tree indignantly.   “ But we’re about to skip down the yellow brick road into hell, geeze, cut me some slack, Irma.”   
  
Irma signed. “Well if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think this is a portal to literal hell.           
  
  
“Hm…” Mikey paused. “How do you know that?” He asked flatly.   
  
Irma bit her lower lip. “Just a hunch. This magic is arcane but anyone can use it if they know what they’re doing and have the resources. The mistletoe acts like a gateway key.” With earnest Irma flipped through April’s notebook. “It happened just as April said it would in here...when did she even find time to research this?”   
Michelangelo shrugged. “Does it matter?”  
  
Irma snapped the book shut. “No. What does matter is finding April and Oyuki. And that means…” Irma and Mikey faced the dead and somehow also  **alive**  oak tree again, feeling the subtle pulse of magical energy running under them. Beckoning them.  
  
“The last time I spoke to April she updated me about the missing homeless case.”  Just in time for the holidays. A grim thought. “Oddly enough every viable lead brought her to this place.”  
  
Michelangelo nodded in understanding.“So April, Oyuki and the missing people are...wherever this portal leads.” Michelangelo grimaced. “Es muy no bueno.”  
  
“My adopted sister is an idiot. And apparently her camera woman is to.” Irma always thought Oyuki was ‘strange’ but never the ‘leap first’ type. “I bet anything April dragged her into this.”  
  
“Wherever that is I hope it's warm. So ready when you are!” Mikey bolstered, he was itching for action. For the past two months the orange ninja lived in an empty lair, healing from a long standing injury. Master Splinter and Leonardo stayed behind in Japan to wrap up unfinished business with Umiko. By the time he was able to stand and take care of himself, they received a distress call from the Utrom in an entirely different dimension, Mikey assured Raphael and Donatello that he would be fine before they went on their way. An empty lair so close to christmas was strange to say the least. But Irma and April visited often.  
  
“I’m ready,” April nodded. “And  I have to say again, thank you for helping me out.”  
  
“No problem! It’s not like you could go to the police about this or anything.”  
  
Irma couldn't help but smile past her nervousness. “You have a point. We should go before someone sees us.”   
  
A moment of silence passed between the two under the haunting awning of the dead oak and the mistletoe.  Michelangelo admired Irma’s plush cheeks and her cute nose, rosy pink from the cold. He was reminded of the mistletoe above them and a  mischievous smirk spread across his face.  
  
“Hey ya know, before we march into the unknown, I do have one request.”  
Irma’s expression brightened with  a cautious curiosity. “Oh?”  
  
Mikey winked impishly. “How about a kiss for good luck?”


	2. Snowflake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title: Snowflake Shuriken

Sitting in a slump, half dazed from two days of no sleep, the first thing Donatello became aware of was the slight ripples in his untouched cup of coffee becoming more violent.

*RUMBLE*

“Donnie get up!”

Donatello’s senses shocked him like the connection of two exposed wires. His bo shot around catching splinters of wood as the far side of the cabin’s walls exploded towards him. Mikey rolled in front of him, deflecting a trio of throwing stars with his nunchucks as Donatello leapt clear. Two mutant reindeer charged inside as if summoned by the storm outside. The normally calm and quiet minded caribou possessed completely white eyes, blank as formless hills of snow.

“It’s Sleiyer and Kima, what's wrong with them?” The orange banded turtle threw himself into the massive mutant reindeer’s center of mass, knocking the air out of Sleiyer’s lungs, a sweeping kick knocked the reindeer’s bone club from his hand, landing it behind the television. Michelangelo didn’t have enough time to block a rear blow from Kima, Sleiyer’s sister, her scimitar slashed down at his shell.

“Two on one isn’t fair!” Donatello blocked the blow, with a shout he threw Kima back into the lodge’s heavy wooden table, it broke in half on impact.

“Thanks bro.” Mikey beamed as he pushed Sleiyer back, giving himself more room to use his weapons. “I thought Chris Kringle taught his reindeer manners!”

“Have you noticed their eyes? I think something’s controlling them, Mikey.” Donatello guarded his brother’s side, shell to shell as the two caribou siblings recovered.

“Something definitely happened after we left them in the Yukon!”

“But what?” Mikey asked while removing a shuriken stuck in one of his nunchaku, their glittery surface caught his eye. “Wow look at this shuriken!” Mikey exclaimed after prying it free, he gasped in enchanted wonder. “They’re shaped like snowflakes!”

Donatello laughed without meaning to probably due to sleep depravation. “Seriously?” Donatello twisted to the left, sweeping his staff against the charging Sleiyer’s legs. When he tripped forward, nunchucks clocked him in the back of the head,downing the reindeer quickly.

“Aw man these shuriken are so cute.” Mikey said gleefully as if he was just noticing them for the first time. “I want some like these!” Donatello rolled his eyes as he jumped over the sofa, knocking it over to put something between him and Kima who slashed at him wildly. “You should make a set for Raphael while you’re at it.”

“Good idea, I bet he’d love that!” Mikey shouted, admiring the almost crystal like features of the snowflake shuriken along with several others embedded into the wall. With child-like glee he noticed they all looked different. “I guess this is like their theme or something? It’s adorable!” 

Mikey heard the quiet whistle of metal through the air just in time to dodge the path of three more shuriken. 

*thpthpthp* Deadly blades thudded into a table lamp instead of him, missing him by a millisecond. Past the destroyed wall and through the heavy snow, Mikey could see more forms coming towards the cabin, all bearing antlers. “Crap. Reinforcements, Donny,” Michelangelo shouted. "Looks like Sleiyer's herd is dashing through the snow straight for us!"

“Then this is a lost cause,” It was time to regroup with the others. Donatello’s bow spun, blocking a sword swing aimed at his face. “Snow mobiles outback, let's get out of here!”

Sleiyer was still on the ground, dazed from Mikey’s strike to the back of the head, though it was lucky the weapon didn’t get stuck in the caribou's antlers.

“Aaaarg!” Kima chucked half of the wooded table clear across the room but Mikey and Don were ready, bounding over it and her in a single jump. “I’m telling Santa and he is not going to be happy with either of you!”

“Lets go, Mikey!” Donatello beckoned as they darted for the garage where the snow-mobiles were parked, jamming the door with a crowbar so the remaining reindeer warrior could not follow.

“You know what else I wanna try?” Michelangelo asked, already revving one of the bikes. “I totally wanna make smoke bombs out of tree ornaments. Absolutely nobody would see that coming.”

Donatello chuckled as he snapped on his helmet. “Festive.”


	3. Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title: Turtles Have Lips?
> 
> This wasn't a challenge prompt, its a prompt I gave myself. (LeoxApril)

“Huh…interesting.” April leaned away slightly in contemplation, not enough to leave Leonardo’s grasp.

Noting the startled look on her face, Leo couldn't help but feel concern. “What is it?” he asked.

April blinked twice. “For someone who doesn't have any lips you’re a pretty good kisser.” Leo balked. “What? Yes we do-er, I do! What do you think I just finished kissing you with?” April glided her thumb daintily against the upper ridge of Leo’s mouth, still surprised by how soft his skin felt there. As opposed to the rougher textures that comprised the rest of the ninja turtle, this was a delightful change of sensation. “Just…isn’t obvious is all.” April mused quietly. “Oh and another thing,” she started before Leo could reply. “When did you learn how to kiss? Who have you been practicing on? Mikey?”

“Don’t even joke.” Leonardo droned before a blush over took his face. “Well, there was this cute lepi girl I met a few years back, during the last Battle Nexus and she uh…”

“O-ho, I never heard about this,” April leaned in with a mock scrutinizing glare. “You must have kissed her an awful lot to be this good.” Leo shrugged. “It was just the one time but I’ll accept your compliment.”Leo pulled her in closer eying her eagerly. “I consider it a natural talent.”

“Course you do.” April grinned. “But in this venue I’ll be the judge of that.” She pressed her nose to his. “Understand?” Leonardo tilted his face to match hers, their mouths fit so perfectly together and he already missed the feeling.

“Hai, sensei…”

 

 


	4. Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theme: Santa  
> A drabble for the Weekly Drabble Challenge 12-23-2018
> 
> This one was a bit weird as I struggled to come up with something that involved Santa in some way, so what you get is ultimately just a turtle in a Santa suit.  
> Also I made Shadow Jones a boy for no reason other than "AU". Since Shadow is 9 the turtles are either in their late 20s or early 30s.

“Merry Christmas, asshole!” With a loud jolly shout, Donatello brought the bag of “gifts” down on the head of the thug in the alley way. His head bounced off the iron door he’d locked behind him mere seconds ago, before collapsing to the ground with a non coherent groan. Donatello stood over the unconscious man as two extra forms shifted in from the shadows, one large, the other small.

“Hey watch your mouth around the kid, Donnie,” Raphael grouched as he knelt down to inspect the crumpled figure at their feet. “ Swearing pointlessly is my job plus I don’t want any crap from Casey.” Donatello’s eyes flashed to the boy who had just made his way over to them and grimaced when he smiled. 

“Yeah, Don. Dad sanctioned swears only.”

“Sorry...,” Donatello blushed while he tugged timidly a puffy red sleeve. He and Raphael had just left passing out presents to the children of the local orphanage, they’d flipped a coin to see which of them had to be the loyal elf. Raphael lost. But when they had to quickly leave to help Shadow, it didn't occur to them to...take the costumes off.

“It’s something about this time of year that gets me super riled. It’s weird.” He chuckled, causing Raphael to roll his eyes. “Whatever. I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with alcohol or mistletoe,” Raph glanced at his brother dubiously. “Or maybe your robot girlfriend made you sleep on the couch last night.”

“I’d appreciate you not over simplifying our relationship, Raphael.” Donatello deflected with a mocking tone, he had the metal door open and was peering through the slight crack. “But at least I have a girlfriend.” He grinned.

“Yeah well I have my suspicions.” Raphael pulled his sai free of his belt and motioned to Shadow. “You stay up here and keep watch.”

“What?” Shadow’s fists clenched in shock and betrayal. “I have to go with you guys,I’ll die of boredom up here!”

“You’ll be safer up here.” Raphael retorted.

“Not if I wander off and get lost.”

“You ain’t that stupid, Shads.” The nine year old boy huffed and crossed his arms. “You’re gonna leave a nine year old kid all alone in this dark alleyway?”

“He’s gotta point, Raph, you know he’s safer coming with us.”

“Yeah!” Shadow interjected hopefully. “I already know where the dogs are, you two might get lost unless I show you the way.”

“He’s right, Raph,” said Donatello as he prodded the still unconscious thug on the ground for emphasis. “He’s better off with us.”

“You’ve made your point,” Raphael nodded towards the boy. “But you’re leading from the rear. Keep behind us.”

It was an old fish processing plant with a basement. The few gang members guarding the place were never prepared for the big green Santa, his even greener elf assistant, and the young boy punching through them like a fist through tissue. Shadow lead them into a level below the basement. Like a cramped fallout shelter, only instead of being lined with shelves of canned goods it was packed with cages of agitated, panicked, and depressed animals. 

“Holy cow so this is where they all went?” Raphael spoke aloud as the turtles and the boy explored the small area. The cages were small, often the dog inside of it wasn’t even able to turn around inside of the thing without effort. For the past few months leading up to Christmas, pets had turned up missing throughout the city. Local police theorized the disappearances were a controlled effort by gangs stealing the animals to be resold at a later date.

“Beagles, bulldogs, pugs...wow is that a St. Bernard?” Donatello knelt down in front of a larger cage where a large brown shape leaned against the bars in a big puddle of fur, seemingly unaware of the barking chaos that surrounded it. “Poor guy, looks like he’s been here for a while.” The dog looked up at the turtle, made the saddest noise Donatello swore he had ever heard, and turned away again.

“I’m starting to wish I had hit that piece of crap at the door even harder.” he mumbled to himself, knowing that probably would have killed the thug but oh well.

“Scoochie!” Shadow noticed a flash of movement from between the cages. A little terrier dog trotted into view and made its way over to Shadow. The boy scooped the dog up and the dog responded by generously licking his face.

“Scoochie?” Raphael quit investigating to watch Shadow and the dog. “What a name.”

“I didn't name her! This is Natalie’s dog,” Shadow finally managed to deflect the terrier’s manic energy away from his face. “Scoochie went missing two weeks ago, and Nat hasn't stopped crying about it since.” The note of exasperation in his voice made Raph wonder about Shadow’s truest intentions.

“How did you learn about this place?” Donatello asked sharply. Shadow cringed. “My friend Jason. His older brother is part of this gang...he wants this to stop but was too scared to go to the police. So he told me instead.”  
“Why you?”

“Well...I told him I have friends. Friends with a ‘unique set of skills’.” The turtles laughed.

“You aren't wrong about that,” Donatello winked at Raphael as he reached into his bag of jolly gifts and pulled out a burner phone to leave a tip with the local police. “Looks like Santa and his trusty elf have a few more stops to make.”


	5. Home Warming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A One shot I wrote mostly to practice writing longer stories. Or at least slightly longer. It's also a mini scenario that played in my head for a short while that I just wanted to type out.
> 
> In this AU Raphael is leader and Leonardo is ex-Foot. Some slight hints of Leopril in here, and nobody likes Vernon. I decided to take stronger cues from his 1987 personality than his admittedly more friendly Bay films personality. 
> 
> My Splinter isn't a strict dojo instructor, he's a bit rougher around the edges but I don't want him to be as wild and unstructured as the Splinter in Rise. April is 20 and the turtles are 17.
> 
> No Prompt for this one but I did write it for the TMNT Writer Nexus.
> 
> The beverage April and Splinter drink is from a line called Noveltea, alcoholic tea. Specifically "The Tale of Oolong".

With a final push, Leo  was free of the rubble. He was clinging to someone but he wasn’t sure who. In darkness, blinded by dust, it took their combined strength to get  clear of the pile of ruin.  Tired and defeated, the remains of their precious lair buried beneath hundreds of pounds of concrete, the unstable aftermath of an unsuspected attack from the Nemesis, a monstrous amoeboid creature tasked to hunt down and neutralize all mutant life on the planet, it was inevitable that the turtle’s number would come up, though no one could suspect when. 

“Is everyone okay? Sound off!” Coughing and exhausted, Raphael carried Splinter away from the settling miasma of dust, particles, and smoke to lay him gently against the side of the sewer tunnel. As he did he heard the rest of his brothers speak out to let him know they were okay and not trapped.

“Did we kill it?” Michelangelo asked wearily while leaning against the sewer wall, not strong enough to stand on his own. His breathing hitched forcing a grin of pain. 

“I don’t know, Mikey.” Donatello was only slightly ahead of his brother. “The explosion must have done a lot of damage but it’s impossible to be sure.”  

“Leo?” Raphael called out. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” Leo breathed, a feminine voice next to him let out a groan just loud enough to be heard by the group, but not bothering to form words.

“Are you okay, April?” Leonardo realized he was holding the woman so tight he was practically carrying her. 

“Not sure...wait.” She shifted slightly. “Urg! Ankle’s fucked—no it's just sprained.” April exhaled deeply. “I could be a lot worse. Thankyou, Leo.” They were lucky enough to be near the exit when everything went to hell.

“Aw man, I hope that thing is dead. But I really wish it didn’t have to take our home with it!” Anxiously Michelangelo rubbed blood away from his eyes. “Where are we gonna live now?”

For a split second, April and Master Splinter exchanged looks. “You guys are staying with me.” April said with her hands on her hips. A definitive statement.

“Are you sure about that?” Mikey was the first to speak, the others  were too shocked to say anything positive or negative. The young woman shrugged as she ran her fingers through her hair. She faced the blocked tunnel, the pitch black smoking remains made it hard to breath forcing her to cover her mouth with her sleeve. They managed to just escape with their lives and whatever the turtles had strapped on them at the time, which wasn’t much.

“In the last thirty seconds I couldn’t be more sure.”

Before anyone could argue Splinter grunted, diverting attention. 

“Thankyou, April. We will accept your invitation.”

* * *

“Get Splinter down on the bed,the first aid kit is in the bathroom under the sink.”  April entered the apartment through the front door and opened  the window next to the fire escape to let the others in. It was a small two bedroom, a decent sized living room, one bath, and of course a kitchen.  April’s former room mate, Oyuki Mashimi, had moved out just under a month ago. April only needed half the space but was paying  for all of it, but in that moment she was glad she hadn’t decided to break her contract early as the turtles silently slipped inside of the dimly lit interior, with an injured rat in tow.

“Okay, Master Splinter lets get you somewhere comfortable.”

“Put me down, Raphael. I don’t need you to carry me like I’m some kind of gimped bride.” Splinter’s struggles though persistent were feeble. 

“Is the old man being stubborn?” Michelangelo went ahead to open the door to the vacant bedroom. 

“I am not old! I’m only 38 at most! At least I think so...in human years. I’ve lost count.”

“Well your 38 year old bones need tending to.” Raphael laid Splinter onto the bed and the rat sighed in relief. Donatello was last to enter, lagging behind to cover any obvious tracks they may have left in the snow leading to April's home, and Leonardo entered the bed room with the first aid kit in hand. 

“Yep, that's a broken bone,” Leo admirably hid his grimace after his inspection of Splinter's leg. “ Hey, Don, I'm gonna need your help with this.”  

“Try to  bare with us, sensei.” 

The rat’s expression remained even. “There are no gains without pains.”

“Need any help?”  April entered, limping slightly to the opposite side of the bed. “ Looks like Michelangelo has a concussion but a minor one. Everyone else seems alright for the most part.”

“Could you hold this old rat’s paw.”  Splinter deflated under the notion of being fawned over by anyone who wasn’t one of his sons.  In fact this was the first time he had ever suffered a significant injury he couldn’t  tend to himself.

“Sure thing, Splinter.” April took his hand with a comforting smile.  

Leonardo braced his hands against his father’s broken leg. “Okay then. Let’s do this.”

April only had one bottle of painkillers to go around, a generic over the counter brand, she needed a dose herself after Splinter squeezed her hand into paste.

* * *

The following days were muted. Waiting, letting wounds heal and their trail to go cold wasn’t easy. The turtles were anxious, especially Raphael.  
April wasn’t a target so she felt safe enough going to work though there was always a turtle on sentry duty, keeping to the shadows of  the roof access. 

They contacted the Mutanimals to warn them about the Nemesis, other than that there wasn’t much more they could do. Splinter was immobile and unconscious for most hours of the day. His body needed to recover after that devastating battle and no one was willing to leave him. Not like last time.

“What are the odds this is all the E.D.F’s doing.” Raphael leaned against the old office chair, gazing tiredly at the screen of April’s computer. Donatello was hunched over the keys searching and researching several files he had given April months ago. They were back-up copies, a clever move, but unfortunately the info he had gathered didn’t amount to much. None of it explained the strange creature that invaded their lair. 

“That monster didn’t just appear out of the aether,  my only other guess is that it could be—.”

“Hey Don, Raph, dinner’s on!” Michelangelo peeped in through the opening.

“Give us another ten minutes,Mikey. We’re trying to discuss—.”

“Discussion is officially on hold,” Raphael interrupted, swiveling the office chair Donatello was sitting in around so he was facing the doorway. “I’m  starving. Let’s eat.”

“I used that chili recipe you told me about,” April wiped her hands on a dish towel as  Michelangelo and Leonardo set plates and bowls on the living room coffee table. Master Splinter was bundled up on a recliner, absorbing the latest soap opera. The turtles knew they would have to negotiate the remote away from their father, a daunting idea even with the broken leg. 

“I went a little light on the peppers, didn’t want to burn a hole through everyone’s lower intestine.”

“Aw come on,the heat is the best part!” Raphael was spooning gobs of chili onto a plate even as he complained. “Ah well, probably still tastes good.” And it did.

* * *

“Are you serious, Leo? It’s freezing out here!” 

Leonardo turned, half surprised to see April standing behind him on top of the apartment building. It was snowing again, another icy cold January night. The young woman made a show of shivering and rubbing her forearms before stomping through the snow to meet the turtle at the roof's edge.  “Aren't reptiles cold blooded?”

“Hah, please, you know those rules don’t really apply to us.” Leonardo raised a hand to catch snowflakes. April playfully tugged on the tail of his mask. “Blue mask, grey eyes, you might have been an ice demon in another life.”

Leonardo smiled. “They called me Snow Miser, whatever I touch,” He brought a kunai into view, and flipped it around a few times in one hand, making a fancy show of it. “Turns to snow in my clutch.” With a flick of his wrist the knife vanished, replaced by a snowball. 

“How do you always do that?” April’s eyes glanced over him in amazement, trying to vain to discover the fate of the kunai.

“Ninja magic.” Leonardo raised the snowball suggestively, April half stepped, half hopped backwards bearing a pouting  frown. 

“If you toss that at me, I’m tossing you off this roof.”

Leo harmlessly tossed the snowball over his shoulder. “Happy?”

“Yes, very.” April was at his side again appearing pleased yet cautious, possibly expecting a surprise ninja snowball at any moment. 

“Where have you been?” April finally asked after a decent pause. “The others said you just vanished for a while.”  She wouldn’t have known, being at work most of the day. She lowered her voice to a whisper.  “You went to go see them?”

“I did.” Leonardo admitted easily. “Well I didn’t actually meet up with them but I left a message. I had to warn them about this Nemesis situation. They’re mutants too.” 

April pursed her lips. “Understandable.”  He was used to telling  her  about “them”, his other family that remained loyal to the Foot. The Foot raised mutants were a subject he couldn’t bring himself  to talk to the others about. But with April it was easy, he had spoken to her about a lot of things.

“Thanks for letting us stay with you, April.”  Leo squinted. “Did I ever say thanks?”

“You didn’t have to,” April waved dismissively. “It’s what  friends do.”

“Hm,”  As Leonardo watched the street below he noted the quiet. It was quiet when that Nemesis thing attacked.  “We can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

“That monster  may not be dead, we had no way to check for its body, it could still be out there. And if we’re with you that puts you in danger.”

“Just knowing you guys is dangerous.” April shrugged halfheartedly. “But it’s a risk I’m okay with. You guys helped me find my brother and I can't thank you enough for that." She reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "After all the times have I backed your plays, you should know this by now.”

“I know.” Leo clenched his fists, his friend was brave but she wasn’t strong,not physically. Was it foolish for her to care about them this much? It was clearly...but he didn’t want her to stop caring and there lay the rub.

“Still I’m not okay with it,”  He countered. “None of us are, really.”   That was true, but options were limited. The next morning cemented his feelings even more. They had known April for just over a year. Through thick and thin, mousers,monsters, the Foot clan, bounty hunters, fugitive alien princesses, and even the coldest farthest reaches of space, she had always been there when  they needed her.  

He would watch April come home from work, often exhausted or frustrated with her  bully of  a boss, only to come home to a restless tribe of boys and an old man. Not that they’d make a mess of the place (or at least they cleaned up well before she returned)  but Leo constantly felt like they were intruders into her world, well, more than they already were, no matter how welcome she claimed  they were. Leonardo couldn’t help her the way she helped them and that thought brought a level of pain which tainted his ability to feel like he or his family belonged. At best he took comfort in the fact that April seemed to take these radical changes to her livelihood in stride.  

The next day she came home with a pack of cards and a  bottle covered by a paper bag. Leonardo wondered what it could be considering  April said she wasn’t a fan of alcohol. 

“Check this out, Master Splinter,” The young woman presented the rat with a glistening bottle. “I always wanted to try this but I didn’t have the guts. With you here I have an excuse.”

“Hmmm, Oolong tea mixed with spirits? Curious combination, let's give it a try!” The next few hours, the apartment was filled with wild laughter behind the bedroom door. The card game didn't really go  anywhere as Splinter regaled April with embarrassing stories about the turtles when they were younger.

"Did I ever tell you about that one time when the boys forced Donatello to wear an old school girl  uniform they found? They tell me it was because he was the only one with slender enough shoulders to fit into it."

As April doubled over from laughing the turtles stood at the threshold, hearing everything.

“Oh crap, I remember when we did that. I hope that camera is still in one piece back at the lair.”

“I...just want to fold into myself and stop existing.”

“I really don’t think alcohol is a good idea considering our current circumstance.”

“At least Splinter’s in a good mood.”

“Let me try some of that.” Michelangelo glided in emboldened by curiosity  and reached for  the bottle. Don, Raph, and Leo  flinched at the sound of Splinter’s tail slapping him away.

“No! You are too young! No son of mine is  going to become a  low life underage drinker!”  Michelangelo tried to pull a classic puppy dog plea on April but it failed.

“Sorry Mikey, call me in four years but until then, do what your dad says.” She ended her sentence with a spill of giggles.

Michelangelo left the room holding his aching hand. “Come on, Splinter, I might be a teenager but I do man’s work!” He grumbled as he passed his brothers, about all the times they saved New York from horrible disasters.

The night of laughing, gin rummy and gin tea proved a disastrous choice for someone who had never touched alcohol a day in her life. Leo returned to the apartment with Raphael after a morning patrol   to  find her half  drowned in a bowl of cereal, looking miserable while Splinter snored soundly and content in the other room.

“Holy hell, I’m never touching alcohol again,” She was conscious, the headache wouldn’t let her sleep. “And that miserable bottle isn’t welcome in here.”  The bottle that was currently nestled in the loving  grasp of a giant rat in the spare bedroom could refute that. It was 8:00 am. She would be late in the next thirty minutes.

“Morning April!”  Before Leonardo could go over to her, Michelangelo leaped out from...somewhere, hugging April from behind. “Did you sleep well? I did!”

“Mikey!” Leonardo crossed his arms, if only to keep himself from wrenching his brother away from April. His insecurities about their intrusiveness stirred again. April  yawned long and slow like an old dog. “Morning, Mikey.” April patted the orange turtle on the head like she was being bear hugged by a big green puppy. “I put your breakfast in the oven, two grilled cheese, no crust, just the way you like. Milks in fridge.” Mikey whooped. “Thanks April!”  

As Michelangelo went on to pilfer, Leonardo felt a pang of something, grow in his chest, warm and lingering. At first he pinned it on pity considering she was housing a group of mutants in a sardine can sized apartment but no, it was something different. He decided it was gratitude and settled on that. 

Michelangelo would have swiped the entire carton of milk if Leo wasn’t there to stop him.

“Use a glass, Mikey.”  After a short jostle, Michelangelo conceded and left. Leonardo sat across from the tired woman. “We’re not doing you any favors.” He sighed. April leaned back in her chair, hair a scruffy mess, massaging her temples. Leonardo expected a complaint or maybe dismissal, the last thing he expected from her was a laugh.

“ How about this, if you want to pay me back, you could teach me ninjitsu.” 

“Um,” Perplexed, Leo tapped his fingers on the table. “That’s an odd request. Seriously?”

“Oh yeah, definitely. That way I can ninja my way to work without the boss seeing me come in late.” Grumbling she put her head in her hands. “Today is going to be a long day...”

* * *

“We’re moving out.”  Raphael said.

“We are?” Michelangelo pulled off his headphones appearing thoroughly surprised.

“Yup,” Raphael crossed his arms definitively. “Master Splinter and I talked it over with April. This place is too small for all of us and we need a place to stretch our legs.”

April raised her arms apologetically. “It’s not that I don’t want you here, honest, that’s why this is being put up to a vote.” 

Raphael continued. “Also Mikey keeps using all of April's shampoo.”

The group stares made Mikey falter. “It smells good. And it makes my eyelashes feel beautiful.”

Leonardo rolled his eyes and leaned against the couch. “Anyway, where is this other place?”

“Do you remember that winter lodge in Northampton?” Asked April.

“You mean that winter castle? With the big fireplace,” Michelangelo’s eyes were aglow. “And the heated swimming pool?”

“The very same,” April smiled. “Plenty of room, surrounded by forests, cut off from society for the most part, and best of all,” She brought her hands together in anticipation. “Completely empty.”

“Isn’t that Vernon’s lodge?” Donatello  stepped into the living room from April’s small closet of a computer office, stirring a hot cup of noodles. “While I couldn’t say I would be the most thrilled to pay that guy a visit, why wouldn’t he be using the lodge right now?”

“He decided last minute that he wants to spend his winter holiday in Greece. He doesn’t like me very much but he thinks the world of Irma.”

“I’m aware...” Mikey complained flatly. 

April giggled. “She convinced him to let her house sit while he was away and he won’t be back until mid March at the latest.” April’s smile grew as if she were the one about to spend the winter in a luxury styled lodge built for the son of the deputy mayor of New York.

“Clever girl.” Michelangelo rubbed his hands together, grinning like a cheshire.

“I literally cannot say no to that.” The smiles were infectious and Leo couldn’t hide his.

“Leave any security systems to me,” Don volunteered. “I can already feel my shell submerged in one of those saunas.”

Raphael nodded, it seemed all were in favor. “Alright then it’s settled! Let’s pack our bags gentlemen. Northampton awaits.”


	6. Compassion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble for the Weekly Drabble Challenge 12-30-2018
> 
> Title: Understanding the Other
> 
> A small scenario where Raphael gets a little personal time with Leonardo's "other" family. Basically I took the IDW idea where Raphael was separated from the other turtles for a while but switched it out to be Leonardo who was found and taken in by the Foot that were creating a small experimental unit of mutant soldiers.

Raphael’s consciousness swam, before he even opened his eyes, his other senses told him something was wrong. Echoing sounds of water hitting metal in a hollow space, and familiar smells, he could only sense darkness behind his eyelids. He was in the sewers. The pressure on his plastron told him he was laying on his stomach with his legs and arms bound together. Water filled his eyes and there was an ever present throbbing pain behind his right eye. It was swollen shut.  
  
At least I'm alive and the others got away. Raphael thought. The mission had gone awry and he wasn’t in any  position to remedy that. He sensed a nearby presence followed by  footsteps moving with ninja like quietness. The first form he saw was blurry and indistinct, a soft yellow shape against the dark colors of the sewer drain loomed over him.  
  
“Vega, Djinn, come here. He’s awake!”  
  


* * *

  
  
“How many times do we have to explain to this guy that we’re saving him?”    
  
Raphael scowled and spat at the snake mutant in anger. Most of it was blood.   
  
“Well excuse me for not equatin getting a grenade tossed at me as ‘being saved’.” Raphael could have also mentioned that he was beat up pretty badly but didn’t as a matter of pride and rage, a lot of rage, but it also counted.  
  
“It was only a stun grenade, stop struggling or you’ll fall on your face.”  The bird mutant ,a crow Raphael guessed, was at the front of their group with the girl lizard, he couldn’t tell what species but that wasn’t important, and the big slithering cobra mutant made the rear of the group, keen on any sudden movements he may make. If these were  human Foot ninjas he could take them with just his feet and a little imagination, but these mutants were fierce and the girl lizard poisoned him, he could sense it sluggishly sliding through his veins, making his body feel heavy and drunk while his brain was still clear, like walking in a suit made from cement.  
  
“I don’t understand why you’re taking me to Shredder through the sewers.” Raphael asked to fill the silence and out of honest curiosity, all the while trying to think of a way to escape. The crow, Vega, and the lizard, Tzevi traded looks before answering. “We are not taking you to Shredder,” Tzevi said. “We are taking you to Leonardo.”  
  
“What do you know about my brother?” Raphael felt stunned,though not from poison.  
  
“He is  **our**  brother.” Tzevi hissed.  
  
“No idea where you picked up that notion, lady, but you'd best put it back.” Raphael’s eyes narrowed at his enemy.  
  
“We're taking you out of Foot territory.” The crow said.  
  
“I  don’t trust you.”  Raphael spoke intensely, forcing it through clenched teeth.  
  
“We don’t expect you to. But think for a minute, if we were going to Shredder, why go through the sewers? We could be top side meeting the closest foot patrol. You should trust us.”  
  
“If you wanted me to trust you then why in the hell did you knock me into the Hudson?” Asked Raphael. Vega shrugged. “To make it look convincing. I caught you before you hit the water so you didnt break your neck.”  
  
Tzevi treated Raphael to a deadly side glance.    
“Lucky you, after all the trouble you’ve given us,” She pointed at a brutal scar on her face. “I’d have no problem cutting you off as a loss.”  
  
The group continued, searching for any signs of the Foot. Raphael had to vent his curiosity. “You three are the mutants Leo told us about,” he realized. “What do you get out of helping me?”  
  
“We gain nothing.” Raphael flinched, it was the snake talking, quiet and sinuous. “But you turtles are nudging into business that has nothing to do with you, keep at it, and you’ll be killed along with the Saber gang. And we don’t want anything to happen to Blue.”  
  
“Blue?”  Raphael wondered allowed, then realized that must have been their name for Leo. “I see...but doin this, helping me, this is all kinds a disobedient. Won’t you be punished?”  
  
“That’s why I used the grenade,” Said Vega. “Caused enough of a distraction to disappear with you. We’ll say you fell into the river but saw no sign of you after that.”  
  
It was almost dawn when the Foot Mutants brought Raphael out of the sewers and onto the roof tops, he recognized the structures, it was home turf.  
  
“The drug should be worn off, this looks familiar enough to you, right? So...this is where we split.” Vega  nodded and Tzevi  broke the iron binds with a mere flick of her tail.  _Yikes_. Raphael thought, rubbing his constricted wrists, Djinn lay his sai at his feet.   
  
  
“You’re doing this to keep Leo safe? Why don’t you leave the Foot like he did?”  
  
“He didn’t leave, Shredder thinks he is dead. If Shredder finds out one of his own ninja defected...” Tzevi looked away visibly disturbed.   
  
Djinn continued for her. “Shredder won’t rest until our brother is executed. And if we were to defect, we put the life of our own master who trained us in danger.”   
  
"You have to protect him for us. Keep Blue away from Shredder."  
  
Raphael would protect Leonardo with his life. But he couldn't make any promises about the Shredder. It was too late to argue the point, with the sun steadily rising they parted ways. For the first time ever, Raphael felt bad for Foot soldiers. Conflicted and in dire need of an ice pack, the only thing Raphael knew was that he needed to get back to the lair, to his family.


	7. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title : Mikey Needed Therapy that Year
> 
> This is a (late) submission for the Weekly Drabble Challenge 01-06-19 Theme: Death
> 
> A silly idea a friend gave me, about how the ninja turtles would cope with the first time they took a life, even if its accidental and the dead person deserved it. Kind of a Weekend at Bernies type of scenario but...not really? Or at least I was thinking about that movie when I wrote this.
> 
> Instead of being traumatized (for the most part), they care more about not getting caught because they're just a group of stupid kids. In this drabble they are like 12 years old.

“Mikey what the heck did you do?!”

“It was an accident! He attacked me first, then I hit him, and then this happened!”

In the dojo, in front of the three brothers lay a dead man in a pool of blood. One of their master's swords thrust straight through him.

“How did this happen?” Donatello’s jaw was slack with disbelief, between the three, he was the first one to take a step forward, daring to inspect the body.

"Sewer Apples." Raphael breathed. "He fell on it."

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Look at all that blood, man, I—I killed someone?. It happened so fast,” Michelangelo took several steps backwards. “I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Hold yourself together, Mikey.” Raphael grabbed his little brother by the shoulders to steady him. Raph was a pale but he couldn’t have Michelangelo fall into conniptions or leave Donatello trying to suss this mess out alone. Holding his breath he moved forward, seeing the sword blade sticking grotesquely from the man’s back.

“I woke up when I heard you scream.”

“I was just going to get a glass of water.” Mikey pleaded. Raphael nodded reassuringly as his brother continued. “And this whack job just...jumped at me from the shadows! Came from dad’s dojo.”

“I’ll accept that explanation,but HOW did he get here in the first place!”

“I recognize him.” Donatello explained suddenly as recognition dawned. “This guy was all over the news.”

Raphael nodded gravely once he realized. “The Boston Basher...”  
A man in his mid 40’s, strong, tall and hella ugly, responsible for a cult and the hideous murders of at least 17 people across New York, a nail studded baseball bat was the weapon, and that was just with provable evidence and recovered remains of the missing.

“The serial killer?” Michelangelo balked. “He’s supposed to be on death row!”

“He escaped last week, and there is a huge rush to recapture him.” Donatello shrugged, completely perplexed by the happenstance.

Michelangelo whimpered. “He mustuv followed us down here when we went topside, and Master Splinter said we weren’t ready yet.” The young turtle groaned. “We are so dead! Deader than this guy!”

“Splinter isn’t here is he?” Donatello looked around, fear lurked in his voice.

Michelangelo felt himself grow cold. “He’s not back...yet. Oh crap, we gotta do something about this! We gotta hide the body! What do we do?”

Being so young and inexperienced, and having a somewhat dissonant understanding of morality, the only thing the brothers could think about was the mountain of punishment that would befall them if their father found out they accidentally lead a human down to their lair. Or worse, what if the police were following the now dead man?  
Raphael inhaled and exhaled deeply“We...we can deal with this. We just need to get rid of this body before Splinter gets back. N-no biggie.”

 

There was barely enough time to notice it, but their ninja senses picked up on it right in the nick of time. Splinter was home. Michelangelo and Donatello froze in place, then Raphael took action.

“You guys, quick! Hide him! I’ll distract Splinter.” At that moment everything happened at once.

* * *

Michelangelo and Donatello had a hard time but with their combined strength managed to move the body.  
“Where do we go with him?” Mikey asked.  
“Get him to my lab, I have more room to stash him in there.”  
“Wait, I can hear him coming down the tunnel, it’s too late!” In a split second, Michelangelo made a choice. “In the living room, the kotatsu, hurry!”

* * *

“What are all of you doing up this late, Raphael. And what happened?” Master Splinter walked into the dojo and saw Raphael casually scrubbing the floor mat. “Oh hey, Master Splinter. Uh this is just from a sparring match that went a little too far. Nothing too bad.”

Splinter eyed him like a hawk and for a second Raphael thought they were already caught until Master Splinter shrugged and turned towards the kitchen. “What have I told you boys about roughhousing in the dojo?” It was a rhetorical question.

When Raphael finished cleaning the blood and went into the tv room to find everyone sitting around the futon he thought the problem had been cleared until he noticed the rigidness of his brother’s shoulders, and how the kotatsu they were sitting by looked...elevated.

“There’s never anything good on t.v. at this time of the day.” Splinter grumbled as he reached his paw into a greasy bag of chips. “Not even CSI.”

“You’re right, sensei, all the more reason for us to get up from here and get some shut eye.” Donatello’s argument wouldn’t be enough to convince their old man to retreat to his chambers, instead the rat went for the remote and started flipping through the channels impatiently. “Tv evangelist, infomercial, news report about a recently escaped deranged killer, shopping channels...aha! Monster movie marathon, better than nothing.” The rat winked at Michelangelo who was doing everything he could to not jitter nervously. “This is more your thing, isn’t it?”

“Mm..y-yeah. Sure is, master Splinter. Can’t wait to watch it.” To the poor boy’s credit he didn’t shatter to pieces when Splinter rested his feet on top of the kotatsu. Donatello and Raphael visibly flinched.

“Nothing better than a monster movie marathon with my sons,” Splinter chuckled. “Though don’t expect that this means no training tomorrow morning.” He was asleep just under an hour into the marathon, head tilted back snoring vehemently. Moving the corpse of the Boston Basher without waking up Splinter was one of the most hairsplitting (and that's saying something for beings who have no hair) moments of their lives. After several minutes of debate they finally decided what to do next.

Next day the police were greeted to the body of a long wanted serial killer wrapped like a cigar in an old blanket on the precinct steps. On top of the blanket sat an empty pizza box with a note on it.

_“Stop losing your serial killers, they are a pain in the ass and now my bro needs therapy._   
_And Happy New Years.”_


	8. Gray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Drabble Challenge 1/13/19. 
> 
> Title: Gray Hair
> 
> More LeoxApril fic! The idea of the turtles living a super long time comes from the TMNT Archie comics (It was probably also a thing in Mirage but I honestly don't remember). In Archie, the turtles were like 500 years old in the future sagas and there were mutants everywhere walking around with humans. It was a cool thing, unfortunately it meant their relationships with non mutants did not last long.

“Ah, gray hairs. They come for me at long last.” April sighed during one of their quiet mornings, examining herself in the mirror.” Leonardo was brushing his teeth and watched her curiously. 

“Does it bother you?” He asked. April grimaced but shrugged as she tied her hair back. “Not too much, but I'm only thirty-two, ya know? Heh, I bet all of the crazy adventures I get into with you and the gang is making me go gray early, maybe I need to do myself a favor and retire.” She laughed, as vibrantly and beautifully as the first time he’d seen her do it.

“Oh well, They were bound to show up eventually. It’s just surprising when they actually do.” 

That moment wasn't particularly important to Leonardo, not back then. A given since he didn't have a single hair to call his own, not even a nose hair. ‘As hairless as a European Stripper’ April would sometimes say...she often used really weird comparisons. While he was aware that it was a cause of worry for some, due to the fact that gray hairs meant signs of aging, even master Splinter fretted over it when he thought no one was paying attention, but for a long time gray hairs didn't matter to Leo.

It was a memory from over two hundred years ago. Exactly how long he wasn't sure. There had been no way of knowing how mutagen would effect the life spans of the turtles or the mutant population in general. So much had changed. The earth belonged to mutants now, and the turtles had lived long successful lives, and were still living them. Donatello even wondered how much longer they had left and started performing genetic experiments in an attempt to gauge the aging process of a mutant. Leonardo certainly felt older but not “old”. Weary in heart yet still strong and agile. And humans, the few that remained were on the verge of discovering how mutagen could benefit their own lives. Even two hundred years into the future, the science was still vague but making progress. 

For the turtles life seemed everlasting, unfortunately so did their enemies. April didn't live long enough to get the full head of gray hair she had anxiously anticipated. Leonardo sometimes wondered what she may have looked like. Beautiful still he was sure. Leonardo wished he could have seen it. And sometimes he would dream that he wasn't a mutant but a human with hair like her, and they had both gone gray, happily, together.


	9. Rain

Yoshi braced against the weight of the human body as it collapsed on top of him. It fell limply into his outstretched arms and without another thought he stashed the body in a nearby closet, remembering to retrieve the knife still lodged in their chest. Slowly, pressed to the wall, creeping deeper into the home, he made for the stairs. Yoshi blessed the rain, as pounding thunder and furious wailing wind masked the sounds of struggle and killing. The strangers must not see him or he wouldn't last long. It was strange, for his entire life, Yoshi hated the rain because it weighed down his fur and made him smell like mildew, but the dampness of his paws reduced the sound of his already light foot falls. 

He rounded a corner and nearly shouted in dismay at what he saw. The clash of lightning pierced the night, muffling the young rat’s sobs. In a small alcove, two of the scientists sat limply against the wall, he could smell their blood. Fearfully, he crept nearer, his only relief was that neither of them was Tang Shen.

Tang Shen. Where was she? He couldn't find her, didn't smell her, maybe she wasn't here and that would be another blessing. All Yoshi knew was that 6 men had broken into the Hamato estate and he had killed two. Four left, not counting the one he’d knocked out near the car. What mattered now more than anything were the turtles, he had to get to the turtles. 

 

He found them in the secret room, a movable panel under one of the beds in their bedroom. Inside he saw Raphael laying down on a pallet with Michelangelo and Donatello sitting next to him, heads low but their eyes lit up when they saw him. 

“Yoshi!”Michelangelo ran towards the rat, hugging him and burying his face into the rat’s damp chest fur. “What’s happening? Why is it storming? Where is everyone?”

Yoshi patted the boy’s head to sooth him. “The rain comes when it wants and means us no harm. Are you still afraid of storms?” 

“No.” Mikey puffed out his cheeks but the rat could still see fear in his eyes. To the young turtle's credit he had stopped crying during storms when he was four.

Donatello left Raphael’s side and scampered over. “Where’s Leo? And Ms. Shen?”

Another lightning strike, Yoshi felt his gut twist. “Where is Leonardo? Where’s your brother?”

“He went to look for Ms. Shen,” Raphael rasped coughing from his bed, he hadn't moved, and the scientists who were supposed to be taking care of him had either fled the premises or were dead. “We couldn't stop him.” His little brow showed frustration. “My throat hurts...” 

Yoshi went to him, secretly dreading the moment he would hear footsteps above his head, the men would find the room eventually and they were running out of time. Stroking Raphael’s forehead he felt the heat of a fever and saw how much the little turtle trembled.

“I got his medicine.” Donatello chirped, shyly holding up a bag as if worried he might have done something wrong but wanted to get it off of his chest anyway. “I remembered the ones Dr.Barney told us to use, so I went to the medicine room to get them,” Yoshi listened, amazed at what the child was saying.

“But I thought I saw...a person. Didn't know who it was, they were hurting someone and I didn't know what to do so I ran back and moved everyone to the secret room.” Donatello rubbed his eyes, recalling what he had witnessed. “Leo was gone when I got back.” He was crying when Yoshi pulled him close, to calm him and also, hopefully, muffle the sobs. “You did a very courageous thing, Donatello.”

His ear twitched. He could hear them coming, there was no time left.

“Come on kids, we must leave now.” His voice was gentle but heavy with urgency as he hoisted Raphael into his arms. He left a bedroom window open to confuse the intruders as he quietly lead the turtles another way off the estate. The downpour was harder by then, but Yoshi knew the mutagen in their blood would keep them from getting as sick as a human would in these conditions, and that Raphael, who was wrapped up in a thick blanket, would hopefully get better soon. 

He had already knocked out the man who had been standing guard outside near the vehicle much farther down the drive, and he hid the body well. He put the turtles into the backseat, all the while wondering what might have become of Leonardo and facing the fact with icy clarity that there was nothing he could do for him now.

If there was one thing Yoshi hated about the rain, it was that he had to drive slow. The terrain would be unforgiving in this weather, he could only just barely see over the steering wheel, and he couldn't take chances with precious cargo in tow.

Where do we go? Yoshi had no idea, all he knew was that they couldn't stay here, they had to hide. But the rain would cover their tracks, he was sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Weekly Drabble Challenge 2/03/19   
> Theme: Rain  
> Premise: A work in progress origin story idea for Splinter in the turtles. In this version Splinter was originally a rat but was given the name Yoshi by Tang Shen. (Got the nick name Splinter because he used to gnaw on everything made out of wood until it was nothing but splinters) She and her father are high ranking scientists at TCRI. But the existence of viable mutants made by the mutagen was leaked to unsavory entities (such as the Foot), who Tang Shen and her father were not willing to make deals with. Inevitably there was an attempt to take the mutants by force.


	10. Help

To Michelangelo it were as if the entire world exploded around him. A bright flash of light and a monstrous roar as the roof he stood on was sucked down, swallowing him into the darkness with it. 

When consciousness seeped back into him he awoke to dust choking his airways. The first two thoughts to enter his mind, it was a miracle he was still alive, and, ‘where the hell was Angel?’. He covered his mouth, coughing as he did his best to scan the darkness for any signs of life. Slabs of concrete and rubble consumed everything but with effort he noticed a human form in the dying light.

“Angel! Angel are you okay?” Michelangelo felt for her through the debris. She groaned pitifully but at least he knew she was alive. ‘Thank God’.

“Mikey...what happened.” Angel asked dully. “What happened to Switch?”

“I don’t see him.” Michelangelo honestly hadn’t looked but for now Switch wasn’t his concern. “Can you move, Angel?” He wanted to pull her up yet dared not touch her if she was too seriously injured. 

“Dunno. I feel numb.” Angel muttered. Crap that can’t be good. Only making things worse, Michelangelo couldn’t feel his shell cell in the darkness. Lost in the fall no doubt. By then it was starting to trickle into his brain that coming to this place was a bad idea, not that he had a choice. Had he? Michelangelo needed to prove to his brothers that he was capable of taking care of himself, make his own decisions and not depend on his siblings when things got bad.

“Things have definitely gone bad.” Mikey muttered to himself. Trapped in a semi collapsed building with his best friend possibly dying from a injury he couldn’t even see. 

Like she read his mind, Angel spoke in halted breaths. “I’m okay, Mikey. I think I can move. Just help me up.” Gingerly he helped, she gritted her teeth in protest but managed to pull herself into a sitting position. The two sat in silence regaining their bearings and listening for any other signs of life. 

“This was a trap.” Angel whispered. “We were stupid to trust a guy named switchblade.”

“More like we’re stupid lucky we didn’t get flattened under one thousand tons of concrete but I get your point.” They were stuck and needed light, an idea came to him. With Angel clinging to his arm, Mikey called out.

“Saffy! Can you hear me? Give us some light would ya?” A moment of silence followed.

“Increasing illumination, Michelangelo.” A monotone primly feminine voice replied. Somewhere in the distance the screen of his shell cell bloomed with light, providing just enough for navigation. 

“Awesome, Saph! You’re a Lifesaver.” Michelangelo couldn’t stop the grin from spreading, his phone was alive! “Hold tight, Angel. I’m going to call the guys.” He made his way over to the phone, still having to pick through the half darkness and wreckage in an effort to stave off any further collapse. The shell cell could still easily be crushed if he made the wrong moves. He felt a small rush of pride, it had been a good idea after all to download S.A.P.H.A , Donatello’s personal computer A.I., onto his own phone. It had been behind his brother’s back...and also against his wishes. There were probably some things within Sapha’s memory that was super sensitive and would put him on Don’s permanent shit list if he found out but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Right then benefits outweighed consequences.

His phone was only a few meters away but it was still too dark to see the wider area. Suddenly there was a presence, years of training made him feel it and it wasn’t Angel.

“Someone’s here!” Angel shouted. She sensed it too. Something tackled Michelangelo from the side, slamming him into a big chunk of recently collapsed ceiling. The turtle yelled in protest and for a mere moment he saw the outline of something big standing within the light of his phone.

“Sorry turtle. No help is coming.”

Then a stark **_Crunch_** and the light was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme: Help
> 
> I used Angel in this scenario. In my headcanon she's quite close to Michelangelo. She has shady connections to the Purple Dragons and asked him to help her investigate a murder. But things go wrong fairly quickly.
> 
> S.A.P.H.A is short for Small All-Purpose Helper A.I. and is basically Donatello's little helper. For a quick reference of what she is like, think Nicole from Sonic SatAM and Archie before she gained a physical form.


	11. Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Drabble Challenge. Theme is Escape
> 
> Another scenario that may happen inside my AU. This version of Leatherhead is a bit more like his 1987 version so he talks with a cajun accent.

Pirated Triceraton Federation Prison Asteroid. Surface level. Day 3.

Time: 0400 hours. 3 hours remain before execution of abducted Utromian ambassador. 

“Now's your chance! Go!” Inside the alien exo suit, Irma’s open robotic palm struck the guards with heavy blasts of plasma. Michelangelo and Leatherhead darted from the shadows striking any triceraton defector or space pirate that stood between them and freedom. The wall stood just fifty meters away and beyond it, the escape ships. Dust, dirt, rubble, boulders, all exploding behind muted muzzle flashes that could not track them in the chaos. 

“Comin through!” The two mutants ripped through any guard that stood in their way. Michelangelo thwacked a guard who was three times his size square across the face with his nunchuck, using the collapsing body as a platform, he vaulted for the wall. “Cowabunga!” He met the wall and was already near the top when Leatherhead joined him.

“We’re almost clear, mate, keep climbing.” Leatherhead heaved his bulk over when he noticed his turtle friend had stopped moving. “What? Move your shell!”

“We're clear, dudedette! Lets go!” Michelangelo enthusiastically waved towards Irma who was still laying waste to the guard station which was nothing more than a pillar of stone and dust. The guards who were alive huddled behind it.

“On my way!” Irma piloted the suit backwards, her guns still aimed at dust choked air, daring anyone to peep a horn, frill or scaly head into her line of sight. “I dare you...” She stopped the suit at the base of the wall, guns still aimed into the prison yard as she pulled herself free of the straps and hoisted herself on top of the mech.  
“Oh my God I drove a freakin robot! I can’t wait to tell April and dad about this!” 

“All those hours in Mech Warrior Online paid off. But ya know, I’m the one who taught you how to play it.” Michelangelo reached down, grasped Irma’s hand as her foot braced against the uneven surface of the wall. “Let’s get out of this hell hole. The guys are waiting for us—”

Suddenly the whole world seemed to break into flame, cutting Michelangelo short. Above them massive lights converged,bursting upon them with savage accuracy.

“Reinforcements, kid, come on!” Leatherhead bellowed as he shielded his eyes. Michelangelo felt Irma’s weight suddenly give as he scrambled for her with his free arm, blinded by lights, he could barely see an inch in front of him. “Give me your other hand!” He shouted over the noise. For a moment he thought she had slipped, then his eyes adjusted under the flood lamps and he saw her hanging limp, the front of her shirt bloomed red.

“Irma!” Cursing he leaned forward more, nearly falling himself, he grabbed her arm and started to pull her limp form towards him.

“Drop her. She’ll slow us down.”

“Go to hell Leatherhead, I’m not leaving her behind.” His adrenaline surged, the drumming of stray bullets blasted around his ears, as his heart beat madly against his plastron. Just a second more and he'd have her over. He saw her lips move like she was trying to say something but it came out a ghostly rasp of blood.

Three shots rang out. One hit her in the shoulder, two buried into Michelangelo’s arm. He barely felt anything as his strength left, and Irma slipped from his grasp. He watched her fall.

“No!” Terror drove him forward but Leatherhead grabbed the rim of his shell and yanked him backwards. “Let go of me! I can save her! I'm not gonna leave her behind,let go!” In Michelangelo's frenzied struggles he might have wrenched himself free or sent them both tumbling back into the prison yard. A shoulder smashed into the back of his head from the mutant gator stunned him unconscious.

“I’m sorry, turtle, but there are things far more important than a human. Maybe one day you’ll understand.”


	12. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Weekly Drabble Challenge! Theme : Acceptance
> 
> Title: Slow Burn
> 
> A leoxapril story. And sort of a look into how I want to handle romance between a human and a non human character.

The farmhouse in late autumn, the battle was over but the mission ended in failure, leaving Leonardo’s leg badly injured. When he was well enough to move he spent much of his time in the barn or the porch swing. His family didn't goad him to move more than he needed to. He needed all the rest he could get.

On that particular day everyone had gone fishing besides Casey who was sleeping upstairs with his son, Shadow, and April who was preparing to cook whatever the turtles and Master Splinter brought back from the river. 

In the meantime April was doing an admiral job helping Leonardo get used to the cast and keeping his spirits lifted. Under the haze of sunset and copious amounts of pain killer, Leonardo in all his self reflection and frustration somehow let slip how he felt about her. Mortified but too tired and broken to run away he waited for April to leave. To his shock April did not leave his side. Lost in her eyes, he felt her hand slip into his.

“This probably isn't the best time for a confession. But I like you too, Leo. For a long time.”

Due to shyness and his general quiet nature, he never told his brothers that he had just experienced his first kiss. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I shouldn't have said anything.” A day later, far more lucid and wracked with guilt, he managed to catch April in the kitchen alone.

“What are you talking about?”

“It can’t be like this here. Or at home. Or Anywhere.” 

April bit her bottom lip. “Why not?” Her voice was flat, no challenge in it.

“You know why not.” Leo tried to speak more forcefully but it was difficult. The silence between them held for several seconds, like a balloon slowly growing under pressure, pressure from years of emotions being shared, laid bare, exposed, questioned and finally reciprocated. All so Leo could wuss out and hand Ms. O’Neil’s broken heart back to her, like a child who knows he’s responsible for breaking a vase and trying to skirt by punishment by being upfront about it. 

“It should be obvious. Even if we weren't being hunted, or in the middle of New York's deadliest gang war, or hiding a fugitive. Even if our lives had none of that going on, April, I'm not even human.”

April rolled her eyes. “I am aware.”

“You deserve something better. Someone who can actually do you some good. Make you happy.”

“Don’t offend me, Leo. I know what I want. You’re asking me to lower my standards?”

Leonardo felt himself blush, not knowing what to say. He leaned against the kitchen table to keep pressure off his leg. This wasn’t going the way he wanted and April seemed to know this. Despite this he couldn’t simply give in, too much was at stake, her safety being one of them.

“I care about you. But we can't—”

“I understand.” April’s gaze dropped to his injured leg. “This is dangerous business.” This time her voice deflated and shook with guilt and conviction. “I gave you guys faulty information. So much of this is my fault.” 

“What? No it isn't—”

“Yes it is!” She insisted with fire. “But I can’t run away, not now. My chance to turn back was axed months ago when my contact died. He would have spoken for me, but since he’s gone, the Foot have no reason to think I’m not a threat to their operations. So...” She leaned against the kitchen sink. “You guys are stuck with me.”

“April...”

They were interrupted by the booming sound of Michelangelo jumping down the stairs like an acrobat and somersaulting into the kitchen. 

“Yo! Is there any ice cream stashed away in this place?” Michelangelo stepped halfway across the threshold and stopped dead in his tracks in the wake of the scene taking place before him. 

“Uuuh...am I interrupting something? I can just grab a snack real quick and get gone.”

Leonardo sighed. “Yes, get gone, Mikey.”

Michelangelo nodded, wide eyed and curious but smart enough to get scarce, he grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl and bounded back upstairs. When it was quiet again, Leonardo spoke.

“Even Splinter believed that source. We had no way of knowing the truth until we went to Ricker’s Island ourselves.” When she didn't respond, he reached for her and made her face him. “We all knew the risk. And I’m grateful to have you as a friend. But what happened yesterday...that kiss.” He hesitated. “Our worlds are too different. And while I always want you to be a part of mine, I can’t be a part of yours.” He allowed those implications to sink in.

To his surprise she smiled. “I appreciate your concern,” April took his hand and squeezed it. “But I’m not giving up that easily.” With a flick of her wrist she tossed the dish towel onto the faucet, it landed as neatly as if she had placed it with deliberate delicacy. 

“Let’s consider this a slow burn, a work in progress. A maybe, maybe not scenario, for now. But it’s too late to take back what was said.” She shrugged. “The way things are now doesn't change how I feel, and I won’t give up before we've even had a chance.” 

Without thinking he pulled her into an embrace. "Thankyou."

He didn't want to let go but she pulled away, yawning, she looked up at the clock. “Yikes it’s late. I’m hitting the hay! Goodnight Leo.” With that, April went to the upstairs bedrooms. 

Leonardo was alone with his thoughts. April’s words made his heart ache, his refusal of her love made him feel like a child, a coward. But he felt warmed by her words and for the first time in weeks he felt courageous. She was smart, brave, knew the risks. And she wouldn't accept defeat.


End file.
